The Guardian reports that the US President would request “added flexibility” to deal with child migrants who, under current laws, cannot be immediately returned across the border. There has been an increase in child migrants fleeing Central America for the US since at least 2009, but in recent months the numbers being detained at the border has spiked dramatically. More than 52,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended on the border since October. Administration officials have been particularly alarmed by the increase in children, many of them girls, under the age of 13. The White House is preparing an emergency request to Congress for additional powers to enable the fast-track deportation of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America who are crossing the US border illegally, a move that could bypass protections introduced by the Bush administration.
Children would still be screened for humanitarian claims, according to the Guardian. It also reports that the administration hopes to invest in repatriation centres in the children's countries of origin, in order to smooth the process.